Cooling System

Like many I have already run into the problem of the ambient room temperature being to hot to run my GF. As I am very short on space I decided to build a chiller right into my bench. I used two 120W Peltier plates mounted to large 4 tube heat-sinks that are cooled with 3 12v fans each. I used a cheap PC liquid cooling system as a chiller under the GF, mounting the RAD directly under the right side intake. I use a 120mm fan mounted on the GF exhaust to draw the cold air in when the unit is not running. My work space regularly hits 31Ā°C ~ 87.8Ā°F but the inside of the GF sits at about 18Ā°C ~ 64.4Ā°F. I still am testing the unit and will be building a control unit/HMI for it. If anyone has done anything like this I would love some tips.

46 Likes

I am constantly inspired by the members of this community. What a strange, wonderful mix of experiences. So many to inspire so many to aspire too!

6 Likes

What an awesome idea.

4 Likes

This community is the best accessory for your laser. The spectrum of experience gathered here is unrivaled.

9 Likes

What a wonderful solution! Iā€™m sure there are many who would be very interested in this. Kudos!

4 Likes

That is so elegant, practically invisible and so effective. Nice work man. I can see that becoming a popular enough project that GF starts pointing people who live outside the perfect temp to it!

6 Likes

any time i had more than a cursory conversation about the GF at maker faire today, especially if someone expressed interest, i said that one of the best features of the GF was the community. just a lot of smart, creative people and very little trolling going on, just a lot of information sharing.

9 Likes

I find this particularly interesting. Is it because weā€™re not at critical mass? Is it because we have a natural barrier of sorts in the rather steep cost of entry (gotta buy a GF, see)? Is it something else?

That being said, Iā€™ve gotten a hella profane and rude DM here, so itā€™s not 100% jerk-freeā€¦ but judging by that DM I received, that person would probably same the same while glaring straight at me.

4 Likes

definitely only ā€œvery little,ā€ not ā€œnone.ā€ but on the internet, thatā€™s a rarity enough worth mentioning.

but yes, i think at least some of it is related to the natural barrier of entry. and i think there was more trolling before the final release of the preorders, when there were a lot more unhappy people. i think today there are more happy people.

4 Likes

Looks like a good system.
Please post links to sources: the plates, cooling system & heat sinks.
I am waiting on my GF now. I have very little cooling available and a toasty environment. Your system looks to be just the ticket! Thanks!

2 Likes

Another possibility:

Since water cooling has come to the GF :glowforge: , shall we start overclocking and nitrogen baths. :cold_face::cold_face::cold_face:

7 Likes

Depending on source availability it has seemed to me that dry Ice has potential in two direct ways. Cooling of course, but a high CO2 in the intake could reduce the O2 content and reduce the ability of flammable materials to actually burn.

3 Likes

ingenious

2 Likes

Totally wowed by your work! Kudos!

1 Like

Very clever way to augment the cooling and extend the operating temperature range! :sunglasses::+1:

2 Likes

I would only use the system I have built if you donā€™t have room for a small portable air-conditioner ā€œWay way more efficientā€. You can find a small AC unit for about $400 CAD. As with any project I would do some things different now that its all together. I would go with 10 60W units ā€œ5 on either side of a larger cold blockā€ and liquid cool the hot sides with two more cooling blocks.

Anyway here is a quick list of similar items used in this build.

Liquid Cooling sys

12V Thermoelectric ā€œIm using two 10Amp unitsā€

Water Cooling Block ā€œone of these sandwiched between the 2 chillersā€

AC110V/220V to DC12V Power supply

I am assuming that you will want to upgrade the fans on that system as they are usually very week.
Hope this all helps.

5 Likes

I totally agree, I built this system with the hopes of turning it on before I get home so it will be cool and ready to go when I get home. I work long days and every Hr counts, Iā€™m usually out the door at 5am and not back till about 5pm. When I cooled it with the ice chest method it was bedtime by the time it was cool enough to use. Thus this inefficient yet small system was born. Again I would suggest an AC unit if space isnā€™t an issue.

Thank you. This helps enormously. Now that I see all the parts, Iā€™ll be able to jigsaw them together. I will look into an AC unit per your suggestion. One nice thing about AC is that it will or should blow dry air.

My problem is that my space is too big. It is a cabin but completely open inside. There is another thread showing a pic of an AC blowing directly into the GF. That or your Peltier design is where I need to go.

Thanks again for taking the time and effort to post your details!

Thanks. Certainly a good option. I would have to increase my ā€˜cubesā€™ capacity as I canā€™t make many at this time. Thanks for another way of looking at this problem !